Abstract

Dog bites pose a threat to public health globally and can lead to infection, disfigurement, incapacity, post-traumatic stress syndrome and even death. In geographical areas where rabies is endemic, bites from infected dogs account for over 90% of the human rabies cases.Children have been proven to be at a greater risk of being bitten by dogs and subsequently contracting rabies than adults. In this cross-sectional study, a school survey was undertaken in association with a rabies awareness campaign in India, to investigate the dog bite incidence and various risk factors associated with dog bites as well as assessing the knowledge of safe interaction with dogs among children in the age group 10-18 years. A total of 1295questionnaires were collected. 43.2 % (n=556) out of the respondents were boys and 56.8 % (n=731) were girls with a mean age of 14 years. Of the children asked, 73.5 % (n=945) did not own a dog, whereas 26.6 % (n=338) reported they did own a dog. Out of the respondents, 23.3% (n=279) reported having been bitten by a dog. More children were bitten by family dogs than stray dogs, and the most common location for dog bites was in a domestic environment. The gender distribution among the children who reported to have been dog bitten was 39.7% (n=110) girls and 60.3% (n=167) boys. The gender difference was found to be statistically significant (p<0.05). There was a significant correlation between owning a dog and being bitten by a dog as well as displaying unsafe behaviour when engaging with dogs.Boys were more likely to display unsafe behaviour than girls. Children who had taken part of an informational lecture on rabies and dog bite prevention gave more correct answers when asked about safe interaction with dogs, but showed no difference in the risk perception compared to children who had not taken part of a lecture. It is suggested that educational efforts targeting children are implemented to raise the level of awareness of rabies, proper wound management, dog population control and safe dog behaviour to reduce the dog bite incidence as well as contributing to the eradication of rabies from India.